Zuma World: February 2011

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Great Byzantine defeats - Part VI - Battle of Pelekanon

Post under Andronicus III Palaeologus, army, Asia Minor, battle, Byzantine, byzantium, Constantinople, emperor, John Cantacuzenus, Nicaea, Orhan I, ottomans, Pelekanon, Roman, roman empire, Turks at Sunday, February 27, 2011 Posted by Saill

Battle of Pelekanon (1329) After the civil war in Byzantium that occurred between 1321 - 1328, a younger generation of nobles came to power, led by Emperor Andronicus III Palaeologus (Ruled from 1328-1341) and his best friend and collaborator, and later...

Great Byzantine defeats - Part V - Battle of Myriokephalon

Post under army, battle, Byzantine, byzantium, emperor, Kilij Arslan II, Manuel I Komnenos, Myriokephalon, Roman, roman empire, Seljuk, sultan, Turks at Sunday, February 27, 2011 Posted by Saill

Battle of Myriokephalon (1176) A century after the battle of Manzikert, Byzantines suffered another heavy defeat by the Seljuks. This time the main actors were the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (ruled from 1143-1180) and Iconium’s sultan Kilij...

Great Byzantine defeats - Part IV - Battle of Manzikert

Post under Alp Arslan, Arabs, army, Asia Minor, battle, Byzantine, byzantium, Constantine X Doukas, emperor, Manzikert, ottomans, Persia, Roman, roman empire, Romanos IV Diogenes, Seljuk, sultan, Turks at Sunday, February 27, 2011 Posted by Saill

Battle of Manzikert (1071) Throughout its history, Byzantium had misfortune to, roughly speaking, constantly fight wars on two fronts, east and west. In the East, the enemies of the Empire were at first the Persians, then Arabs and finally the Turks,...

Great Byzantine defeats - Part III - Battle of Vărbitsa Pass

Post under army, Balkan, battle, Bulgarians, Byzantine, byzantium, Constantinople, emperor, Krum, Nicephorus I, Roman, roman empire, Staurakios, Theophanes, Varbitsa pass at Sunday, February 27, 2011 Posted by Saill

Battle of Vărbitsa Pass (July 26, 811) When Charlemagne destroyed the Avar state in Pannonia, at the beginning of the 9th century, the Bulgarians gained their freedom. Soon, the head of Pannonian Bulgars - warlike Krum, took the Bulgarian throne....

Great Byzantine defeats - Part II - The Battle of Yarmouk

Post under Arabs, army, battle, Byzantine, byzantium, Constantinople, emperor, Heraclius, Khalid ibn al-Walid, Muhammad, Persia, Roman, roman empire, Theodore Trithyrius, Theophanes, Yarmouk at Sunday, February 27, 2011 Posted by Saill

The Battle of Yarmouk (August, 636) Until the first decades of the 7th century, Arabs, who have been neighbors of the Byzantine Empire for centuries, were not a very significant political factor. But then, Muhammad united this large group of people,...

Great Byzantine defeats - Part I - The Battle of Adrianople

Post under Adrianople, Ammianus Marcellinus, Ancient, Asia Minor, barbarians, battle, Byzantine, byzantium, Constantinople, emperor, Goths, Huns, Roman, roman empire, Valens at Sunday, February 27, 2011 Posted by Saill

Byzantium is the only state that continuously survived from ancient times to the dawn of the modern age. Byzantium existed for more than a thousand years, and experienced great rises and deep crisis. In this vast period, Byzantium has undergone a long...

Zuma Fact: #107: Victim of a Meteorite!

Post under zuma fact at Sunday, February 27, 2011 Posted by Saill

In 1911, in a place called Nakhla in Egypt, a meteorite killed a dog. So far, this is the only known "meteoric" victim to this d...

Friday, February 25, 2011

Muammar el-Gaddafi's female virgin bodyguards!

Post under bodyguard, female, Muammar el-Gaddafi, photo, virgin at Friday, February 25, 2011 Posted by Saill

Check also this great video of Gaddafi and his bodyguards on You Tube. Check also this great video of Gaddafi and his bodyguards on You Tu...

Greatest PR disaster – John Prescott

Post under award, british, Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, newspaper, politics, The Guardian at Friday, February 25, 2011 Posted by Saill

In December 1999, The British newspaper “The Guardian” has announced traditional parliamentary awards. By unanimous decision, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, won the “Greatest PR disaster“ award. Why? Because he used a car to cross a 150 meters...

Zuma Fact: #106: Pharaoh Ramesses II!

Post under zuma fact at Friday, February 25, 2011 Posted by Saill

Ramesses II (Ramesses the Great), the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty, and the most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire, had more than 160 children. His successor was Merneptah, his thirteenth son, and forth child of...

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Secret admirer – Gioachino Rossini

Post under April Fool's joke, composer, Gioacchino Rossini, Italian, letter, opera at Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Posted by Saill

"Maestro, since I'm not able to write you what I can tell you in private, be in the theater 'La Scala' tonight, in a box number nine, during the performance of your opera. I will wait for you with impatience in my heart. Your secret admirer." When the...

Zuma Fact: #105: Can opener!

Post under zuma fact at Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Posted by Saill

Can (tin) opener was invented 45 years after cans. Peter Durand patented tin cans in 1810. The first can openers were patented in 1855, in England....

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

A heart of stone – Joseph Stalin

Post under germany, Joseph Stalin, Red Army, Russians, Soviet Union, world war II at Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Posted by Saill

During World War II, the Nazis imprisoned many members of the Red Army. On the other side, the Soviets have also captured many German soldiers. However, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (1878-1953), Soviet President and General Secretary of the Communist...

Zuma Fact: #104: TIME's Man of the Year 1938!

Post under zuma fact at Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Posted by Saill

Since 1927, each year American TIME Magazine is choosing their Man of the Year. In 1938, Time has chosen – Adolf Hitl...

Monday, February 21, 2011

Paradise Lost – John Milton

Post under English, John Milton, Paradise Lost, poet, publishing, rights, writer at Monday, February 21, 2011 Posted by Saill

When he was sixty years old, famous English poet John Milton (1608-1674) completely lost his sight, and fell into extreme poverty. To get some money, in 1669 he sold the publishing rights of his epic poem "Paradise Lost" to London printer and bookseller...

Zuma Fact: #103: Sneeze!

Post under zuma fact at Monday, February 21, 2011 Posted by Saill

In the Middle Ages, many people believed that the devil could jump into the mouth of a person who sneezes. That is why they said "God bless you” and “To your health” to the one who sneezed....

Saturday, February 19, 2011

NBA's highest-scoring game - Detroit Pistons vs. Denver Nuggets

Post under american, Basketball, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, record, sport at Saturday, February 19, 2011 Posted by Saill

Basketball fans still call this game historic. It was played on December 13, 1983. Kiki Vandeweghe, former star of "Denver Nuggets", scored fifty-one points! That was also his personal best score in his sports career. Despite Kiki’s enormous...

Zuma Fact: #102: Cecilia Bartoli!

Post under zuma fact at Saturday, February 19, 2011 Posted by Saill

Cecilia Bartoli (1966), famous Italian opera diva, was only eight years old when she first appeared on the stage - in the opera "Tosca" she interpreted the role of a shepherd boy....

Opera is not a thriller – Alfred Hitchcock

Post under actor, Alfred Hitchcock, british, Director, drama, opera, Psycho at Saturday, February 19, 2011 Posted by Saill

“What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out”, claimed famous British film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980). When he was asked why he never wrote some operatic piece, the creator of "Psycho" answered: - “Well, after the second act all the...

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